Runaway Ninja vs. Yakuza (3)
Far from Goldon, out on the open plains, light spilled from dozens of tents and pushed back the night.
“Smith here. May I come in?”
Smith stopped before a tent draped in the hides of every beast imaginable. It was larger and more ornate than the rest, flaunting its place at the heart of the band, and it radiated a strange, ominous aura.
“….”
Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Smith fidgeted with his round spectacles a few times, trying to settle his nerves. A rough woman’s voice answered from inside.
“Come in.”
At the command, Smith stepped through the flap.
In the center of the tent sat Delbanas, cross-legged, her single remaining eye wide open and fixed on him.
“Report.”
“First—the woman who joined three days ago is the adventurer Sayleen, known as the Avenger.”
“Avenger?”
Delbanas twisted her lips in open contempt.
“Seems her parents were killed by bandits and she swore revenge. She spent five years grinding away in a mercenary company, and now she wanders every region taking nothing but criminal-hunting quests. Her skill’s nothing special, but she’s got so much experience that people say she’s a real headache.”
“Sounds like a nuisance. Kill her first if you get the chance.”
“The new bandits who joined us seem to know her too. Best to stay careful.”
“And the old man who came two days ago?”
“A free knight named Leonard. Among knights he’s called ‘Lucky Leonard.’”
Smith paused for a breath.
“He served thirty years in the Silver Fox Knights—the order that was wiped out at the Battle of Tellas. The nickname stuck because he cowardly survived alone. His family kicked him out for being a coward, and there’s talk he’s a drunk as well.”
“So the senile old bastard came here to die. Fine—we’ll give him what he wants. What about the ones who showed up yesterday?”
“No information on them. Probably a bunch of justice-obsessed rookie adventurers who banded together. Still, I’ll dig a little deeper just in case.”
“They’re rebuilding the gate out of wood, right?”
“That’s right.”
“What a pack of idiots.”
Delbanas snickered.
“What should we do with the villagers we caught this time?”
“If they’re half-decent, put them to work. Feed the rest to the men.”
“Understood.”
“Get out. Unless it’s important, come back tomorrow.”
“As you wish. I’ll take my leave.”
Smith bowed and left the tent.
“Hah.”
Alone, Delbanas waited until every trace of his presence had vanished, then pulled off her eyepatch.
Wooooong—
Where her right eye should have been sat a green-glowing orb.
“It seems no anomalies have occurred.”
Wooong—
The orb vibrated and flared with light. She gave a slight nod.
“Understood. I’ll do as you say.”
Delbanas’s solitary conversation ended there.
— Aaaaah! Aaaaaaah!
— Kyaaaaah!
“Mmm…”
Savoring the screams drifting in from outside, Delbanas closed her single eye. The orb on the right dimmed and fell silent.
The truly cool bastards always operate at night.
Call yourself a “Knight of the Sun” and you just look like some scrub who has to bow his head after dark. But say “Dark Knight” and—even if nobody knows exactly what that means—you instantly sound badass.
“Nin-nin.”
All-black Runaway Ninja.
That’s the real cool. Anyone who argues is just a heretic.
Creak.
I eased the window open and climbed onto the roof.
Tonight’s job: recon of the friendly camp.
People can swagger around looking righteous in public and still plot behind your back. In a war like this, the traitor who sticks a knife in you from behind is deadlier than the enemy in front.
They said there were spies, so I had to check.
Ssssss—
I cloaked myself in Floating Shadow and raced across the rooftops.
Leap!
Unlike Martolan, the buildings here were sparse, so I had to make some serious jumps. Maybe I should learn a double jump? That Super Maruo bastard pulled it off no problem, but I still can’t figure out the principle.
First stop: the lord’s residence.
Sparse lanterns, almost no guards. This was a real dirt-poor lord. Baron Martolan had been living large by comparison.
“Hah.”
One beat of ninja breathing, then I slipped through a window.
Portraits of previous lords lined the corridor—every single one of them looking half-dead. Maybe they needed vitamins more than power.
I kept searching until I found the only room leaking light and moved toward it.
“Please don’t worry. The adventurers are doing well. All of Goldon is ready to fight as one.”
“Do we really have a chance? I want to protect the territory to the end, but I can’t bear watching everyone suffer because of my stubbornness.”
“They’re staying because they love Goldon.”
The door was shut tight. Listening from outside, I recognized Tren and Joanna.
Short on manpower, so Tren was personally sticking close as her bodyguard. Even a rookie knight was still a knight—unless a few dozen men stormed in or a real expert tried an assassination, they’d be fine.
“Sir Tren… thank you for remaining in Goldon. You’re all I have.”
“The same goes for me, my lady.”
Not something I particularly wanted to know, but those two were clearly that kind of couple.
Smack-smack-smack-smack.
Okay, that part was a little entertaining.
I rested my ears for a bit, then slipped away to continue the mission.
Residence: all clear. Next target—Leonard.
I’d overheard enough of his conversation yesterday to know where he was staying.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I should have died too… I should have…”
Slip.
Inside, Leonard lay on the bed clutching dozens of empty bottles. He was so thoroughly plastered he couldn’t even see straight.
“Why… why did it turn out like this…? I fought for the greater good… not once… not even once…”
The stench of alcohol mixed with lonely-old-man funk was no joke. I didn’t want to linger, so I quickly rifled through a few belongings.
Shit. This was the real gaslighting special.
“…Is that why? Have I spent my whole life chasing illusions?”
Leonard kept muttering his endless self-interrogation. No anomalies. The old man had even written a will—he really had come here to die.
It left a bitter taste. Reminded me of my own grandfather, who’d spent his final years in a silver-town nursing home. He’d never laughed at my dreams… or had that just been the dementia talking?
I headed straight for the Yakuza Slayer’s place. The unexpected complication at the lord’s house had cost me some time.
Whoa.
This woman was the real deal.
Yard, rooftop, hallway—caltrops everywhere. The place was practically a miniature fortress. When I lifted a window to slip inside, the floor underneath was packed with sharp blades; I nearly stepped on them. If my hypersensitive senses hadn’t let me dodge every single one, I’d have been in serious trouble.
“…Snore.”
Sayleen hadn’t even taken off her helmet. Fully armored, she sat with her back against the wall of the largest room, still gripping her one-handed sword in her sleep.
I’d never met anyone this paranoid. Maybe this was the minimum requirement to call yourself the Yakuza Slayer?
She gave off pure “righteous ally” vibes, so I left without further investigation. Just looking at her made me feel safer.
— …~! …~! …~!
“Nin?!”
I was about to make one last circuit of the neighborhood and head back when a weird noise drifted from near a well, a little ways from the residential area. It sounded exactly like some yokai summoner’s evil chant, so I went straight for it.
A girl with long pink hair had both hands raised high to the sky, belting out a bizarre cry.
Black carriage, red carriage, golden carriage~!
Carriage, carriage, carriage~! Carriage~! Carriage~! Carriage, carriage, carriage~!
Muka. You again?
If you want to be a carriage driver, go learn how to drive a carriage—why become a bard?
I itched to flick her forehead, but I held back. No matter the situation, you don’t use violence on ordinary civilians.
Time to head in.
Ssssss—
“…?”
The scenery in front of me moved.
A human shape gliding along, leaving faint afterimages. That was the exact effect you got when using Floating Shadow.
A trainee? Or a Snake’s Tail operative who hadn’t been there that day?
Either way, I had to chase.
I layered on a more polished Floating Shadow of my own and followed.
Sss— sss—
It wasn’t just one. The first figure linked up with others coming from different directions. They traded hand signs only they could understand, then moved again.
They recognized each other, so their skill levels were probably all about the same.
Splash.
They dropped into the sewers.
A distance I could have covered in seconds, and these slugs took a full five minutes crawling. I was dying to give them pointers. If they turned out to be fallen ninjas, maybe I’d gift them a little advice on their way to the afterlife.
“All five assembled safely.”
“Internal map complete.”
“One knight confirmed. Assassination impossible.”
“Client’s requirements confirmed. Need more people.”
“Will deliver after arrival at the site.”
They talked in abbreviations like kids playing army. When they pulled down their masks to wipe sweat, I got a good look at their faces—middle-aged men in their thirties and forties who looked like members of an adulterous hiking club.
Definitely not trainees.
“Move out.”
Splash. Splash.
The middle-aged men pulled their masks back on and started walking. The sound of them stomping through filth completely buried my own footsteps.
Were they meeting someone outside?
The only reason Snake’s Tail would be here was if they’d taken a contract. From the conversation, the client clearly wasn’t on Goldon’s side.
All signs pointed to these fallen-ninja bastards having joined hands with the yakuza.
“Arrived.”
They climbed out of the sewers into a spot a little ways from Goldon and shook themselves off. Not a single one noticed me—the invisible sixth member who’d been tailing them the whole time.
At this point I was basically in omniscient-narrator mode.
“Good work.”
A shadow that had been hiding behind a tree stepped toward them.
“You handled it well?”
“Mostly. Assassination failed. There’s a knight stuck to her. The lord’s careful too—hard to slip anything into the food. Looks like you’ll have to go yourself.”
“I never expected an actual assassination.”
The shadow toyed with the hilt of a sheathed sword with a gloved hand and smiled.
This son of a bitch…
That was the problem. Victims lost sleep just thinking about meeting their attackers, while the attackers strolled around laughing with their friends.
Earth or another world—the darkness of society never changed.
“Leave the rest to me and head back first, yeah?”
Seemed there was no one else coming. I dropped Floating Shadow and locked eyes on him.
“You thieving bastards. Stealing my stuff without permission?”
Crack!
“Eh?”
I twisted the neck of the still-dazed middle-aged woman beside him.
Thud.
Instant death.
Six of them? I’d beaten twelve knights before. Even if they ran, I could chase them down and kill them one by one.
“F-five, five-six-seven?!?!?!”
Especially you. You’re already dead.